Hong Kong politician urges US whistleblower Edward Snowden to leave

Updated
Tue 11 Jun 2013, 4:43 AM AEST

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United States whistleblower Edward Snowden is believed to be in Hong Kong.

theguardian.co.uk

A veteran pro-Beijing politician says American whistleblower Edward Snowden, who is believed to be hiding in Hong Kong after leaking details of a massive secret internet surveillance program, should leave the city.

Regina Ip, formerly the city's top official overseeing security, says the city's administration is "obliged to comply with the terms of agreements" with the US government, which includes the extradition of fugitives.

She says she does not know whether the government has yet received an extradition request for Mr Snowden but that it is "in his best interest to leave Hong Kong".

"If Mr Snowden is in Hong Kong and if the US justice department decides to initiate criminal investigation and if the offence comes in the purview of our agreement, they could through the US consulate ask our law enforcement agencies to assist in locating him ... and possibly even arresting him," Ms Ip said.

"He may not have known that the US has signed treaties with us ... so it's best he leave."

The US and Hong Kong signed an extradition treaty in 1996 a year before the city was handed over from British to Chinese sovereignty, under which both parties agreed to hand over fugitive offenders.

What is PRISM?

Eavesdropping program used by US intelligence agencies

Allegedly allows the National Security Agency (NSA) and the FBI direct access to servers to track an individual's web presence

Whistleblower expresses interest in Iceland

He says his choice of Hong Kong is due to its "strong tradition of free speech".

But the 29-year-old government contractor who has been working at the National Security Agency for the past four years has now expressed an interest in seeking asylum in Iceland, which he describes as a country that stands up for internet freedoms.

However, the head of Iceland's directorate of immigration, Kristin Volundardottir, says no application has so far been received, and Mr Snowden will have to travel to the country to be able to submit an asylum application.

"The rule is you have to be in Iceland and apply in person," Ms Volundardottir said.

The International Modern Media Institute, an Icelandic foundation working towards securing free speech, says it is trying to get in touch with Mr Snowden.

"Our next step will be to assess the security implications of asylum, as it is possible that Iceland may not be the best location, depending on various questions regarding the legal framework," the institute said in a statement.

Mr Snowden says he went public as whistleblower to the secret internet surveillance program because he could not "allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building".

"My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them," he said.

Both the US consulate and Hong Kong government has declined to comment on the case.